Goofy question - NEF .223

[MtJerry]

I have a NEF .223 Handi Rifle.

I have been trying to get a good load worked up for a 55 gr. bullet and have tried about 25 different loads. I am getting VERY frustrated. I have floated the barrel with the "o-ring" trick, I have shimmed the barrel, cleaned the barrel to within an inch of it's life, .................. yada, yada yada ........

I can get 1 1/4 " group with 2 loads, but I know it willl shoot better than that. I have a load with a 40 gr. v-max that will shoot 3/8" all day long.

My question: Would a "bughole tuner" work on a single-shot like an NEF? If so, I can take a good shooting load and try to make it better.

For those who don't know what a Bughole tuner is - it's a device that is placed in the forarm of the stock to put pressure on the barrel and "tune" the harmonics.  RIMFIRE shooters havebeen using it for quite some time, but I have never heard of nayone using it on a centerfire.

It is different than a "BOSS" type of system and I am NOT interested in that approach.

I appreciate any comments.

Jerry

[safetysheriff]

If those .22's are shot with one-piece stocks then I can understand the 'bughole' tuner.     It might work very similar to the pressure-bedding technique used on so many Remington Model 700's.    I can't see it working on a Handi with its two-piece stock, however.

Try Remington brass, Remington 7 1/2 BR primers, Hornady 55 or 60 gr' spire points, and BL-C(2) for your propellant.    Start with the 55 gr' projectiles.    That recipe, using nickel-plated brass usually, works wonders in my .223 Handi'.

Good shooting.

[Longcruise]

You might be all the way home at 1.25 inch.  I too have tried many many loads with my .223 nef and in the end the Win Varmint pak outshot everyting but it never did as well as 1.25!!

[Paul5388]

I know my Hornet Handi will out shoot my .223 Handi with lighter bullets.

I don't know that I have gotten any groups under an inch with the .223, but so far it doesn't like the 45 gr Nosler solid base or any V-Max I have tried, regardless of weight.  The cheap 55 gr Rem PSP's are doing about as good as anything else.

[Ditchdigger]

You might try a bipod, it made a difference in mine. Digger

[223Shooter]

I also shoot a 223 NEF Handi. 55gr Horn SP's and 55gr Nosler BT's will make one ragged hole at 60yds in my backyard. I now use Benchmark Powder with CCI BR4 primers and LC brass. A terrific load. Works great for me. I have not had too much success with 40 grainers in my NEF. I DO like the heavier load for coyotes. ...

[whitedogone]

Ditto the Winny value pack ammo.  It is real good stuff in most of our NEFs.  How many rounds do you have down that tube?  SOME Nef rifles take quite a few rounds to settle down.  After you get her broke in, try to shot it dirty.  My .223 really likes to be shot dirty.   I hardly ever clean it much.  I just run a oily patch down her after shooting only cleaning on occasion.  Just something to try. :wink:

[whitedogone]

P.S.  ............... have the crown checked!!!!!

[TomC1426]

I know this goes against the grain, but try putting the forearm on the rest  just behind the sling stud. Most post that I've read suggest the Handi's work better rested at the hinge. Mine for what ever reason shoots better the other way.

Tom

[Thunder38849]

Ditto on the shooting dirty.   My Handi shoots eratic with a spic and span tube.   But, let it get  fouled and you get 1 MOA @ 100.   I know, it's weird but it works for me.

[lik2hunt]

But, let it get fouled and you get 1 MOA @ 100. I know, it's weird but it works for me.

I think it's due to the micro-grooved rifling. Has to get fouled a little to stabilize the bullets better. Just MHO.

[Dand]

have your experimented with the seating depth of you 55 gr bullets?  It makes a big difference in my Ruger 1. Try seating them out or in a little. In my ruger I need to seat bullets way out. Good luck.

[dannyk]

I also have a NEF 223 Ultra, it will not stabilize 55gr bullets no matter what kind of powder I use. The info that came with the gun also said that with the 1 12 twist it would not stabilize anything over 55gr. I have found that after lots of experimenting my particular gun likes 35 and 40gr V max bullets with 25.5gr of H322 powder the best and a close second is the H335 powder.

[handirifle]

Actually on another thread on this forum there is one fella getting great success with a certain Sierra 63gr bullet.  It is more of a blunt nosed design that Sierra says was designed for slower twist rifles.  I have not tried it in mine yet but will in the next month or so, I hope.

[bull b 25-06]

I was reading a guy's web site a few months ago, and for years he has done nothing but try different combinations of powders,brass,primers,etc.. Finally in the end he used Remington brass(which he was very loyal too)and Winchester primers,and this combo shrank his groups to half their original size. He also stated that Rem brass was the best due too the thickness , and he could get  more reloads out of them. Thought this might help it is certainly worth a try.

 later bull b 25-06

[Fred M]

Just the other day I bought some new primers CCI200 and loaded some 25-06 test loads one out of three would not fire. I noticed the firing pin imprint looked very shallow. When I toke them appart I tried them in the Ruger#1 and they fired ok but the dimple much deeper.

So the hammer spring on the H&R Ultra could be a bit stronger but only with these primers

I thought maybe there was soimething wrong with the gun, so I primed a few case with four different primers makes, they all fired with a nice deep dimple. These CCI200 primers must be really hard.

Yes I know the cases were not too short, this would also cause a missfire.

This of course will give you really poor ignition and bad groups. Primers are very important to accuracy.

So I think it might be a good idea to test a new supply of primers.

Yes the winchester primes are very good, I can't get them up here, and Remington brass is also very good I use Rem brass a lot.
Have a look at my web page about case head comparison. See item 18.

I also found that magnum primers with H1000 produced very good results, but I would only use them with very slow powder. Fred M.

[lik2hunt]

I also found that magnum primers with H1000 produced very good results, but I would only use them with very slow powder. Fred M.

Fred -  Was that in the 25-06 or in a .223?

[Longcruise]

it will not stabilize 55gr bullets no matter what kind of powder I use.

I'm curious as to how you define "stabilize".  Do you mean they just did not shoot very accurately or did you observe bullets flying sideways on your targets?

[Fred M]

lik2hunt.
Magnum primers can be used with any load of slow burning powders, in any caliber. This cold spring I used magnum match primers in my 25 Hunter HBR rifle in a competition BR match using 42.5gr of H380 and 85gr Fowler match bullets, these loads were pretty hot but very consistent.

In my 25 Hunter hunting rifle I use H4350 with 100gr bullets the magnum primers will will give 50 ft/sec more velocity, but this is negated by the very cold temperature during deer hunting.

In the loose barrel of my 25-06 I feel the will keep the pressure up a bit longer. The only difference between magnum and standard primer is the duration of burn,  This of course will increase pressure some. Loads may have to be adjusted depending on outside temperature.

I opened up a factory Remington 25-06 and found the powder to weigh 50.5 gr of what looks like IMR4350. This correlates very close to IMR loading data. So I will get some Rem 9-1/2 primers and give then a try with IMR4350 and Remington 100gr PSP bullets, since the factory loads shot so well.
Fred M.

[dannyk]

Wont stabilize any 55 or 52 gr bullets I mean that they will not shoot accurately enough for me, the group size is in the 2 inch range and scattered about no consistent pattern, when I went to the lighter V max bullets and tried several different powders I got the best results with the H322 groups were cloverleafing etc. then it was the seating depth, lost good grouping had to go back to camp and look in the book to see what depth they were set at that produced the good results. The groups came right back with the original settings. The gun will shoot very consistent groups now at 100 yds will try this saturday at 200 and 300.

[Ditchdigger]

40 gr Vmax's molys works best in mine with about 15 rds. shots in it, then try for groups. H 335 , 26.5 grs.  Digger

[Longcruise]

Wont stabilize any 55 or 52 gr bullets I mean that they will not shoot accurately enough for me, the group size is in the 2 inch range and scattered about no consistent pattern

That probably doesn't meet the criteria of a stability problem.  More of an accuracy problem.  My .223 won't shoot anything from 45 gr to 60 gr into consistent less than 2" groups, but the 60 grainers shoot just as well as the 50 grainers for the most part.

My Tikka, OTOH, with the same 1/12 twist shoots anything from 45 gr to 60 grain into less than an inch.

[lik2hunt]

I opened up a factory Remington 25-06 and found the powder to weigh 50.5 gr of what looks like IMR4350. This correlates very close to IMR loading data. So I will get some Rem 9-1/2 primers and give then a try with IMR4350 and Remington 100gr PSP bullets, since the factory loads shot so well.
Fred M.

I realize we're kinda hijacking this thread by talking about the 25-06 here but Thankyou Fred. I have been wanting to do the same thing but hadn't gotten around to it. How sure are you about the IMR4350? Why don't you just go ahead and start another thread to answer this if ya want or you can PM me. Don't want to keep stealing away from the original subject matter here. Sorry